Production of arch or like supports



p 1948' w. L. GOULD v 5 2,440, 08

PRODUCTION OF ARCH 0R LIKE SUPPORTS Filed Jan. 21, 1944 Inventor ML L MML 5004 0 B 7 g wz wm 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 27, 1948. w. L. GOULD2,440,508

PRODUCTION OF ARCH OR LIKE SUPPORTS Filed Jan. 2 l, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet2 In zentor ML L MM L 50040 B y M WW ma:

Patented Apr. 27, 1948 UNITED STATES F F ICE raonuorron ARCH on LIKESUPPORTS William L. could, Albany, N. Y. Application January 21', 1-944,Serial No. 519,220

3 ;.Glaims.

This invention relates to the Droductionof arch and like supports forthe feet or other members or parts ofthe body, and the object of thepresent invention is primarily to provide a method of and means forproducing such supports inan easy, expeditious, economical and efficientmanner.

Heretofo-re, in the production of arch or like supports, it has been thecommon practice to first make a plaster mold of the member or part to'be supported, then use the-mold to make a cast model of the member orpart itself, and then shape the supportiabou-t the contour of the castmodel. Usually, the molds and models are made of plaster of Paris, andthe support has been formed of metal. The use of plaster of Paris is -atroublesome or messy andtime-consuming operation, and the indirectmethod involved is expensive and difficult.

An importantobject of' the therefore, is to provide for direct moldingor shaping of the support to the member or part itself, as compared totheindirect prior method described above.

In carrying out the present invention, .I provide a pattern of themember or part to besupported in the form of a sheet of plasticmaterial, This pattern is rendered soft or readily shapable, and thenthe pattern is molded or shaped to the .contour of themem'berorpart tobe supported. The

present invention,

shaped pattern is thenallowedto harden or .set

inshaped condition.

Further objects and features. of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following description when considered in connectionwiththe accompanying drawings, and the invention consists in thenovelmethod and inthe apparatus consisting of, the novel combination, form"and arrangement of parts'hereinafter more fully described, shown inthe. drawings .and claimed.

:In the drawings, acters indicate corresponding parts throughout theseveral views: A

Figure 1 is a side elevational view showing one form of apparatusconstructed in accordance with the present invention, and particularlyadapted for the production of supports for the transverse andlongitudinal arches of a foot.

Figure 2 is a top plan View thereof.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an elevational view showing a protector thatmay be worn toprotect the patient against heat when the pattern is of plastic materialthat must be heated to render the same soft or readily shapable.

wherein likereference ;charbase :5 upon which is :which :is adaptedto bethat may be softened root restiandpthevbase so elevate the foot rest.,port may-thus be produced because. the person pattern without causingdiscomfort.

Figure '5 shows a modified manner a pattern for use in producing archthe feet.

For purposes of illustration only, the drawings show an apparatus torproducing arch supports fort-he transverse and longitudinal arches of afoot, in accordance with the present method. As shown, th appar-atus mayconsist of a suitable 7 adapted to be placed and suitably located molds6 and 1 for shaping patterns to produce longitudinal and transverse archsupports, respectivel-y. Disposedabo ve the base fi .isaverticallyyieldable horizontal foot rest 8 upon placed the pattern :9that .is adapted to be :shaped to provide the longitudinal andtransverse .arch supports. This pattern is out from asheet of suitableplastic material so that it will be shaped :by the molds i6 andTtoconform to the arches .of the foot when the latter :is placed uponthe .foot rest of providing supports tor .8 and pattern 19 to :pressingthe pattern downwardly against the ,molds :6 .:and 7. pattern .is shapeddirectly to the .foot,

Thus, .the or .rather,

transverse ingly .mounted in any suitable way such as :by means ofvertical rods in attached to and .de-

pending from the ends of the footirest and slidably extending throughguides in the baseflti as at ll, helical compression springs t2 beingprovided .on the rods and interposed between the as tonormallygyieldingly ,A comfortable archsuptor-Whom thearch support isintendedis the one ,Whoplaces hi-sfoot on the foot rest and depressesthe sarnewithonly sufiicient pressure to shape the In order tofacilitate proper placingof the foot upont-the foot rest 8, the latteris provided near one end with an upstanding heel abutment I3, and itwill be noted in Figure 2 that the foot rest is provided with openingsor cut-away portions, as at M, and I5, where the molds 6 and 1respectively occur so that when the foot rest is depressed, said moldsmay pass upwardly through the foot rest into engagement with the pattern9 for shaping the latter.

When the arch supports are made of plastic material which must be heatedto render the same soft or readily shapable, the base 5 may have the topthereof heated so as to heat the molds 6 and While any suitable heatingmeans may be employed, I have shown the base as of hollow cheaper thanplaster provided with a motion with the form and containing anelectrical heating element 14 positioned in close proximity to the topwall of the base and the molds 6 and current being suitably supplied tothe heating element by means of wires 15, Also, where heat is employed,it is necessary to protect the foot from the heat, and for this purposean asbestos sock l6 of a. flexible nature may be provided, as shown inFigure 4, for being donned by the patient prior to placing his foot uponthe foot rest and pattern and pressing the same to shape or form thearch supports.

As an alternative, the pattern may form the sole 9a of a temporaryarticle of footwear including an upper I6 having suitable means forsecuring the same upon the foot, as at I! (see Fig. r

In actual operation, all that is necessary is to have the patient donthe asbestos sock, then place his foot on the plastic pattern sheetresting on the foot rest, and then depress his foot so that the archmolds conform the plastic patto the arches of the foot. The patto cooland harden or set in tern sheet tern is then allowed its shapedcondition.

The present method and device afiord many advantages. It is time-savingbecauseit provides for instant performance or fitting. In addition, itmakes use of plastic patterns which are much of Paris and metal molds.By practicing the present method, gradual fitting of arch supports ismade possible, instead of immediately lifting the entire arch from anextreme abnormal to a normal condition. After the arches have beenaccommodated, the patient can comeback for further fittings andremoldings of the same supports, as his foot gradually becomes elevatedat the arches. In practicing the present invention, there is no need tohandle plaster of Paris and the mess and trouble involved therein isentirely eliminated. As a matarch supports should not take a great dealmore time than is frequently required to fit shoes.

As shown in Figure 1, the hollow base may be door [8 adapted to besecured closed in any suitable way and capable of bein readily openedfor access to the heating element should occasion require.

While the invention has been described in conproduction of arch supportsfor the foot, it will be evident that the same method and type ofapparatus may be employed for producing supports for various members orportions of the body. The pattern out from a sheet of plastic materialis simply supported yieldingly in position and the member or portion ofthe body is pressed against it and the yieldable support carrying thesame so as to force the pattern into contact with a proper mold or moldsby which the pattern is shaped.

-40 ter of fact, the whole procedure of producing the a support for aFrom the foregoing description, it is believed that the construction andoperation of the apparatus, as well as the nature and advantages of themethod constituting the present invention, will be readily understoodand appreciated by those skilled in the art.

What I claim as new is:

l. The herein described method of producing a support for an arch of thefoot, which method consists in providing a pattern sheet of plasticmaterial, yieldingly supporting the pattern above and spaced from afixed shaping mold, and using the foot to move the pattern downwardlyinto engagement with the shaping mold so that the pattern will be shapeddirectly to the arch of the foot.

2. The herein described method of producing part of the human body,which method consists in providing a pattern of plastic material,yieldingly supporting the pattern in spaced relation to a fixed shapingmold, and using the part of the human body to move the pattern intoengagement with the shaping. mold so that the pattern will be shapeddirectly to the part of the human body.

3. An apparatus for producing an arch support comprising a fixed basemember, a stationary shaping mold secured on said basemember, a footrest adapted to have a plastic pattern placed thereon and mounted on thebase member for vertical movement relative thereto, yieldable meansnormally elevating said foot rest to a position above and spaced fromthe shaping mold, said foot rest having an opening therein for passageof the shaping mold and being depressible by the foot against the actionof said yieldable means to move the pattern downwardly into engagementwith the shaping mold so. as to shapethe pattern directly to the arch ofthe foot.

WILLIAM L. GOULD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

